History of American Cricket Part VI - 1880s
2009 Mar 12 by DreamCricket USA
For most of the 1870's, USA cricket was in recession until the Australians toured USA in 1878 - the first overseas side to visit USA in nearly 6 years. Before the tour, The American Cricketer magazine carried a prediction that USA would have to field 69 men instead of 18 to defeat the Aussies. (USA routinely fielded 18 instead of 11 cricketers against visiting sides. All of that was about to change.)
1880-1890: Resurgence of Cricket in USA
Part VI in our multi-part series on USA cricket history
History of American cricket Part I - The 1700's
History of American Cricket Part II - 1800 to 1850
History of American Cricket Part III - 1850s
History of American Cricket Part IV - 1860s
History of American Cricket Part V - 1870s
Tour Report of America's first victorious tour of England in 1884
USA Cricket History: English Tour of 1885 - Philadelphia defeats an English XI at home
For most of the 1870's, USA cricket was in recession until the Australians toured USA in 1878 - the first overseas side to visit USA in nearly 6 years. Before the tour, The American Cricketer magazine carried a prediction that USA would have to field 69 men instead of 18 to defeat the Aussies. (USA routinely fielded 18 instead of 11 cricketers against visiting sides. All of that was about to change.)
Oct 1, 1878. Image: DreamCricket Collection
After Ed Sprague's dew-skimmers had the visitors reeling at 32 for 7 in the first match at New York, the American side's confidence was boosted and they approached the second match with renewed vigor.
Between October 3rd and 5th of 1878, the Australians played a match in Philadelphia where, for the first time, the Americans fielded an eleven instead of eighteen, Philadelphia still led the visitors by 46 runs in the first innings after Walter Newhall put up a 84 run stand and the Philadelphians nearly enforced a follow-on on the Australians. In the end, despite a spirited comeback by the Australians, the match ended in a draw - the first against a full strength team in USA.
The Americans had set an example with their performance in this match and this ignited the spark for cricket winning over more than a few young men to the game. The 1880s saw rich immigrant businessmen patronizing the sport - the list of benefactors included the entrepreneurs of the day like Pullman, Horlick brothers, Spalding, Ogden, etc.
Competitive cricket in Philadelphia was also responsible for many of that city's successes in the cricketing realm. The Halifax Cup was a keenly fought contest between the Philadelphia clubs beginning 1880 - a tradition that continued until 1926. In 1879, cricketing ties resumed with Canada and USA won back-to-back until 1884.
In 1879, USA defeated the visiting Ireland team in 1879. In 1885, they defeated the English side led by Rev ET Thornton in the first of the two match series. In 1891, Gentlemen of Philadelphia defeated Lord Hawke's English side convincingly in the first match after 21 year old Henry Ingersoll Brown took a career best 6 wickets for 55 decimating England's best batsmen with his vicious spell. Much later, in 1896, the Philadelphians defeated Australians in the last of three matches.
Lord Harris brought an English side to USA in 1879 and that tour, albeit a disappointing one for USA, greatly helped cricket's cause. This was 10 years before he went to India as Governor of Bombay and enabled cricket to flourish in India. The Harris Shield, Mumbai's inter-school cricket tournament, was founded by him in 1897 and is the longest-running cricket tournament in India. Lord Harris was by no means the first English cricket organizer or personality to visit USA. Cricket tours in that era to USA were something of a training routine. Alfred Shaw toured North America in 1868 and 1879 and this experience served him well for four subsequent Australian tours. All the famous cricketers of that era travelled to USA at one time or the other and the list is impressive - WG Grace, Lord Harris, Alfred Shaw, Lillywhite, Bosanquet, Jessop, Ranjitsinhji, Duleep Sinhji, Pataudi Senior, Donald Bradman.
Through 1880s and 1890s the quality of the visiting teams became stronger. It was after a disastrous performance against the visiting Australians (the team featured Demon Spofforth), it was felt that the Americans really must travel to England and play in tougher conditions there in order to become a first-rate cricketing power. The Australians had been doing that with great success. In 1881/82, on their third tour of England, they defeated England in England! A rare feat (now remembered as The Ashes)! Inspired by that achievement, on May 17th 1884, the Gentlemen of Philadelphia boarded the City of Rome at Sandy Hook embarking on the first ever tour of Ireland and England under the captaincy of Robert Newhall. $8200 was raised to make this possible.
They called themselves the Argonauts. Image: DreamCricket Collection
On the 1884 tour of England, the Philadelphian cricketers won 8 matches, lost five and drew five matches - an effort that drew praise from WG Grace who played on the Gloucester side that lost to the visitors! Following this, an English side visited USA in 1885 and lost the first match versus Philadelphia.
For Canada, the 1870s ended with an aborted tour of England when their team captain was arrested for being a British Army deserter. But things started looking up for them through the 80s.
From an organizational perspective, among the casualties of the Civil War was the National Cricket Association, founded by Edward Wilder in 1859, the organization that was responsible for that famous tour of George Parr's All England XI to USA and Canada. In 1876, after a tournament played in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the clubs in and around Philedelphia formed the Cricketers Association of the United States. This organization established the Halifax Cup, also in Philadelphia which was played until 1926. The American Cricketer magazine, founded June 28th 1877, resulted in the expansion of The Cricketers Association of the United States to something approaching a national scale and it is said that there were 300 clubs in the country as the 19th century drew to a close. Despite its initial success, the national association never quite got going and the city-centric approach to cricket organization became the norm with The Associated Clubs of Philadelphia playing a prominent role in the selection of teams and in organizing tours. It was to be 1961 before USA once again attempted to create a central authority - this was the United States Cricket Association.
April 26, 1881: Birth of the Intercollegiate Cricket Association
In 1881 U Penn, through the efforts of John B Thayer Jr. joined with Harvard, Haverford, Princeton, Trinity College of Hartford and Columbia to form the Intercollegiate Cricket Association. Cornell was admitted some years later. Columbia, Princeton and Trinity dropped out after the first season but the others continued to play well into the 1890s.
May 21, 1881 - Princeton College vs Trinity College of Hartford
On May 21, 1881, Princeton College Cricket Club played the Trinity College Club of Hartford on Staten Island in front of a small crowd of the students and residents of the island.
The match was the first of the inter-collegiate cricket matches for the 1881 season. The match was umpired by the English professional Cleverly and the veteran Jimmy Smith.
Trinitarian Captain Bohlen sent Emery and Purdy to face the bowling of Shober. Emery was run out after he had scored 10. Purdy was caught with 3 against his name. After some players scored duck eggs or made terrible scores, the innings ended on 38 and included 5 extras.
Princeton's eleven began with Taylor and Morgan receiving fast balls from Emery and Grint. An excellent innings by Shober sustained the Princeton side and by the time he was bowled by Grint, he had contributed 24 runs in two hours and ten minutes. ThePrinceton total was 56.
When Trinitarians commenced their second innings, Emery and Purdy started well but were disposed off by Shober. Hazall then took fout four Trinity batsmen for ducks. Six wickets were down for 20. The Trinity second innings produced just 41 setting a target of 23 to win.
This the Princetonians achieved without too much difficulty. Shober with his haul of 10 for 22 and Haxall with 8 for 46 distinguished themselves in this match.
Trinity College - First innings
WS Emery run out..10
JL Purdy c Norris b Shober..3
AT Mason c Todd b Shober..2
DM Hoblen c and b Shober..10
GE Perkins b Shober..2
LC Washburn b Shober..5
AP Grint c Norris b Shober..0
S Trowbridge c Conover b Haxall..0
FC Gowen c Morgan b Shober..0
J Brainard not out ..1
WC Sheldon b Haxall..0
Byes 2; Leg byes 1, wides 2..5
Total..38
Princeton College - First innings
W Taylor lbw Emery..4
D Morgan b Emery ..7
J Shober b Grint..24
R Norris b Emery..2
J Hazall b Grint..2
FS Conover Jr., b Grint..5
E Royle c Perkins b Grint..0
W Todd not out..4
R Hamilton run out ..0
L Riggs b Emery..0
G Westervelt b Emery..0
Byes 3, Leg Byes..5, wides 1: 9
Total..57
Trinity College - Second innings
WS Emery b Shober..6
JL Purdy c Shober b Hazall..9
AT Mason c Royle b Hazall..0
DM Bohlen c Shober b Haxall..0
GE Perkins c Hamilton b Haxall..0
LC Washburn c Todd b Haxall..0
AP Grint c Morgan b Shober..1
SRP Trowbridge not out ..8
FC Gowen c Riggs b Haxall..7
J Brainard b Shober..2
WC Sheldon run out..1
Byes 3, wides 4..7
Total..41
Princeton College - Second Innings
W Taylor c Bohlen b Grint..0
DP Morgan b Grint..1
JB Shober b Washburn..10
R Norris b Emery..0
JD Haxall not out..5
FS Conover not out ..3
Byes..4, wides 1…5
Total..24
July 1881: I Zingari of Canada visits USA
Modeled after the Zingari wandering cricketers of England, the I Zingari of Canada embarked on the first of several tours of USA.
In the first match played between July 11th and 12th of 1881, playing against Young America the home team handed a heavy 7 wicket defeat on the visitors. Once the target was achieved, they continued playing and scored a further 76 runs "for the enjoyment of those present". The I Zingari then played Merion on 13th and 14th. This match, they lost by 10 wickets.
The third match was against Girard on 15th and 16th. This was won easily by Girard by an innings and 9 runs.
It is a documented fact that AG Brown and GW Morris scored 64 and 133* respectively to post what was the biggest opening partnership against a visiting side. Details of this match are not available.
October 1-10, 1881: Alfred Shaw's English XI plays Philadelphia teams
Alfred Shaw had previously toured North America in 1868 and 1879, and this experience enabled him to organize 4 tours of Australia. The present tour of USA in 1881 was the first leg of a tour that included stops in New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco en route Australia.
Alfred Shaw's visiting team included such top English pros of his time as George Ulyett, William Bates and Bill Midwinter. Of these gentlemen, Bill Midwinter was soon to become the first to play international cricket both for England and Australia.
Scored 33 in the
first match.
Was Sr. VP at Penn Railroad.
Died on board
the Titanic
in 1912
Over eight thousand cricket lovers showed up at the Germantown Cricket Club ground at Nicetown on October 1 to watch this English team batter the Americans by an innings and 104 runs runs in the first match on October 1st to October 3rd. The spectators were not entirely disappointed - they witnessed a brilliant performance by John B Thayer(33) and Robert Newhall (40) with the bat in the first innings and Charles Newhall troubled the visitors with his bowling taking 6 wickets in his 50 overs conceding 71 runs (He bowled 21 maidens). The home team caved to Peate in the second innings for just 47 runs.
Following that rout, the St. George Cricket Club of New York played the Englishmen between October 5th and 6th. They then proceeded to Miltown where they played a combined USA team. Following that the visitors played Peninsular Cricket Club in St. Louis on October 12th. From there, they went to San Francisco where they played a match on October 20th before leaving for Australia.
Match 1 - October 1, 1881 played at Germantown Cricket Club
Gentlemen of Philadelphia - First Innings
GC Thayer run out 8
R Hargrave c Shaw b Bates 6
JB Thayer c Selby b Shaw 33
RS Newhall b Midwinter 40
CA Newhall run out 3
FE Brewster b Barlow 0
WC Morgan c Barlow b Midwinter 9
EW Clark b Midwinter 0
TH Dixon st Pilling b Ulyett 20
DS Newhall b Ulyett 2
CE Haines c Pilling b Midwinter 2
WC Lowry not out 3
Extras 0
Total (all out, 84 overs) 126
Fall of wickets:
1-9, 2-39, 3-59, 4-66, 5-66, 6-98, 7-99, 8-108, 9-115, 10-118, 11-126 (84 ov)
A Shaw's XI bowling
Peate 10 3 21 0
Bates 5.3 2 25 1
Barlow 17.3 10 27 1
Shaw 29 19 27 1
Midwinter 18 9 18 4
Ulyett 3.2 1 8 2
A Shaw's English XI - First Innings
G Ulyett c Morgan b JB Thayer 71
RG Barlow c RS Newhall b CA Newhall 3
J Selby c Haines b CA Newhall 2
WE Midwinter c RS Newhall b JB Thayer 73
W Bates c GC Thayer b JB Thayer 13
T Emmett b CA Newhall 13
WH Scotton c Haines b CA Newhall 28
A Shaw c RS Newhall b CA Newhall 43
+R Pilling b JB Thayer 15
J Lillywhite not out 8
E Peate c Morgan b CA Newhall 6
Extras (1 b, 1 nb) 2
Total (all out, 136.3 overs) 277
Fall of wickets:
1-11, 2-20, 3-143, 4-154, 5-172, 6-179, 7-220, 8-263, 9-263, 10-277 (136.3 ov)
Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling
Overs Mdns Runs Wkts
CA Newhall 50.3 21 71 6
Lowry 6 0 31 0
DS Newhall 8 1 27 0
Clark 30 9 78 0
Hargrave 12 5 20 0
JB Thayer 30 9 48 4
Gentlemen of Philadelphia - Second Innings
GC Thayer b Peate 1
R Hargrave b Peate 6
JB Thayer b Bates 9
RS Newhall c Bates b Peate 0
CA Newhall st Pilling b Peate 2
FE Brewster run out 4
WC Morgan c Emmett b Peate 4
EW Clark not out 8
TH Dixon c Selby b Bates 2
CE Haines c Emmett b Peate 4
WC Lowry b Peate 3
DS Newhall absent
Extras (4 lb) 4
Total (all out, 50.3 overs) 47
Fall of wickets:
1-7, 2-15, 3-16, 4-16, 5-20, 6-31, 7-33, 8-35, 9-36, 10-47 (50.3 ov)
A Shaw's XI bowling
Peate 25.3 16 21 7
Emmett 4 2 2 0
Bates 21 11 20 2
October 7th, 1881: Alfred Shaw's English XI versus Combined USA at Miltown
In this match, played in Miltown on 7th, 8th, 9th of October, Alfred Shaw's XI won by 132 runs, once again in front of huge throngs of spectators.
Scorecards of the 1881 English tour of USA
A Shaw's English XI - First innings
RG Barlow lbw b Smith 17
G Ulyett b CA Newhall 10
J Selby b Wright 38
WE Midwinter b CA Newhall 9
W Bates c Wright b Smith 0
T Emmett b Wright 8
WH Scotton c Dixon b Bromhead 13
*A Shaw c Haines b CA Newhall 0
+R Pilling not out 0
J Lillywhite c CA Newhall b Wright 1
E Peate run out 0
Extras (13 b, 4 lb, 1 w) 18
Total (all out, 108 overs) 114
Fall of wickets:
1-17, 2-70, 3-70, 4-70, 5-81, 6-104, 7-104, 8-108, 9-110, 10-114 (108 ov)
United States of America bowling
CA Newhall 34 16 43 3
Bromhead 30 20 14 1
Thayer 5 2 5 0
Tyers 6 4 6 0
Wright 21 12 14 3
Smith 12 7 14 2
United States of America - First Innings
G Bromhead b Midwinter 0
CH Braithwaite b Midwinter 0
T Hargrave lbw b Shaw 29
Emmett c Ulyett b Midwinter 3
CA Newhall c Ulyett b Peate 0
RS Newhall st Pilling b Peate 0
JB Thayer c Scotton b Peate 11
G Wright b Shaw 4
H Tyers c Shaw b Peate 4
TH Dixon b Shaw 9
J Pearson st Pilling b Peate 0
WC Morgan run out 4
HE Ratliff c Barlow b Peate 1
TL White c Scotton b Peate 0
Wood b Shaw 0
Smith b Shaw 1
CE Haines c Peate b Shaw 1
H Hargrave not out 1
Extras (3 b) 3
Total (all out, 58.2 overs) 71
Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-1, 3-11, 4-11, 5-11, 6-35, 7-41, 8-54, 9-54, 10-55, 11-67, 12-68, 13-68, 14-68, 15-68, 16-70, 17-71 (58.2 ov)
A Shaw's XI bowling
Midwinter 14 4 20 3
Peate 30 17 33 7
Shaw 14.2 6 15 6
A Shaw's English XI - Second Innings
G Ulyett c Bromhead b Wright 6
RG Barlow b Tyers 59
J Selby b Smith 3
W Bates b CA Newhall 27
WE Midwinter c and b Thayer 3
T Emmett b Smith 9
WH Scotton c sub b Wright 23
*A Shaw b CA Newhall 26
+R Pilling c Thayer b CA Newhall 0
E Peate not out 2
J Lillywhite retired hurt 0
Extras (7 b, 1 w) 8
Total (all out, 128.3 overs) 166
Fall of wickets:
1-11, 2-30, 3-37, 4-71, 5-86, 6-110, 7-164, 8-164, 9-166 (128.3 ov)
United States of America bowling
CA Newhall 34.3 14 48 3
Wright 29 16 30 2
Bromhead 12 7 15 0
Smith 22 13 22 2
Braithwaite 5 4 4 0
Thayer 20 9 36 1
Emmett 1 1 0 0
Tyers 5 3 3 1
United States of America - Second Innings
Smith c Selby b Peate 2
Wood c Emmett b Shaw 4
H Hargrave b Shaw 0
RS Newhall c Barlow b Peate 0
J Pearson b Shaw 3
JB Thayer c Barlow b Peate 0
CA Newhall c Emmett b Peate 5
Emmett b Peate 18
WC Morgan b Peate 3
G Wright c Bates b Peate 0
TH Dixon b Peate 1
T Hargrave c Ulyett b Peate 8
HE Ratliff c Ulyett b Peate 14
G Bromhead c Scotton b Shaw 3
CE Haines not out 8
H Tyers c Ulyett b Peate 0
TL White lbw b Peate 0
CH Braithwaite st Pilling b Peate 5
Extras (5 b, 2 lb, 1 w) 8
Total (all out, 70.1 overs) 77
A Shaw's XI bowling
Peate 35.1 23 29 13
Shaw 35 16 40 4
1882: The year of the Ashes
Lord Harris' team to Australia in 1878/79 was not treated well. This resulted in an ill-feeling and MCC was not interested in staging an international match at Lord's. The earliest test match in England were therefore conducted at the Oval and ironically at the behest of Lord Harris who decided to bury the hatchet. This 1881/82 tour saw the Australians defeated by England on English soil for the first time. This resulted in the Ashes saga. This match took place at the Oval.
September 19th, 1882: USA versus Canada
The annual Canada versus USA match was played at the Germantown Cricket Club ground in Nicetown on the 18th and 19th of September. USA won this match by a 8 wicket margin and after winning, continued to play for the entertainment of those assembled, finishing at 175 for 8.
Canada - First Innings
+EH Hamilton c Brockie b Law 36
AH Lemmon c Haines b Thayer 1
GN Morrison lbw b Thayer 10
HB Morphy c Haines b Law 6
A Gillespie c Scott b MacNutt 14
F Lockwood c and b Newhall 1
*RD Gamble c Clark b Newhall 9
HP Smith b Newhall 5
F Harley not out 16
C Blomely c Haines b MacNutt 0
MM Boyd b MacNutt 7
Extras (1 lb, 2 w) 3
Total (all out, 82.1 overs) 108
Fall of wickets:
1-5, 2-19, 3-54, 4-55, 5-56, 6-75, 7-81, 8-90, 9-94, 10-108 (82.1 ov)
United States of America bowling
Thayer 13 0 35 2
Law 21 13 16 2
Clark 11 6 15 0
Hargrave 7 2 8 0
Newhall 24 14 27 3
MacNutt 6.1 4 4 3
United States of America - First Innings
H Brown b Gillespie 6
W Brockie c Gamble b Gillespie 9
JB Thayer b Gillespie 1
S Law b Gillespie 11
*CA Newhall c and b Harley 1
JI Scott c and b Morphy 17
T Hargrave b Harley 0
TH Dixon c and b Smith 31
EW Clark not out 32
+CE Haines b Morphy 6
H MacNutt c Smith b Morrison 8
Extras (2 b, 2 lb) 4
Total (all out, 60.1 overs) 126
Fall of wickets:
1-15, 2-18, 3-23, 4-30, 5-30, 6-30, 7-68, 8-87, 9-93, 10-126 (60.1 ov)
Canada bowling
Gillespie 25 11 43 4
Smith 16 1 39 1
Harley 12 5 24 2
Blomely 1 0 6 0
Morrison 4.1 0 6 1
Morphy 2 0 4 2
Canada - Second Innings
+EH Hamilton c Brown b Law 6
HB Morphy c Brown b Law 39
MM Boyd b Law 0
GN Morrison b Law 10
F Harley c Law b MacNutt 12
A Gillespie b MacNutt 1
*RD Gamble c Newhall b Hargrave 6
HP Smith b Clark 18
AH Lemmon b Hargrave 0
F Lockwood c Dixon b Scott 10
C Blomely not out 0
Extras (3 lb, 1 nb) 4
Total (all out, 70.3 overs) 106
Fall of wickets:
1-22, 2-24, 3-45, 4-64, 5-68, 6-77, 7-77, 8-83, 9-106, 10-106 (70.3 ov)
United States of America bowling
Law 27 12 36 4
Clark 1 1 0 1
Hargrave 8 5 6 2
Newhall 16.3 7 29 0
MacNutt 12 3 24 2
Scott 6 4 7 1
United States of America - Second Innings
EW Clark c Morphy b Boyd 39
*CA Newhall b Boyd 36
JB Thayer not out 11
H MacNutt not out 0
H Brown did not bat
W Brockie did not bat
S Law did not bat
JI Scott did not bat
T Hargrave did not bat
TH Dixon did not bat
+CE Haines did not bat
Extras (1 b, 1 lb, 1 w) 3
Total (2 wickets, 34 overs) 89
Fall of wickets:
1-72 (Clark), 2-88 (Newhall)
Canada bowling
Gillespie 12 3 33 0
Smith 3 2 3 0
Harley 7 0 21 0
Morphy 3 0 12 0
Boyd 7 0 15 2
Blomely 2 1 2 0
October 9, 1882 - Australian tour of USA - First match at Hoboken between Australia and All New York
The match between eleven Australians and eighteen Americans began at St. George's cricket club in Hoboken on October 9th and 10th, on a soft wicket. The overs were 4-balls each.
Two tents were erected - one for the ladies and one for the beer. Both were adequately sheltered from the rays of the sun. There were 500 people before noon and that number swelled to 1,000 after lunch.
Americans set off to bat at 12:15PM after winning the toss. It was an unmitigated disaster and it was clear very early that the Demon Spofforth was going to be impossible to play. The All New York eighteen fell like a pack of cards. Spofforth got 10 for 12 and Boyle got 7 for 13 as the Americans struggled to reach 27.
After such a dismal performance, New York Times noted that "very little money changed hands among the spectators." Australians came to bat at 2:45 PM. American bowling was reasonably good and Lane troubled the Aussie batsmen but Murdoch and Giffen saved the Aussies the blushes. Murdoch scored 54 and Giffen accounted for 36. The remaining batsmen scored fewer than 25 runs all together. On Day 2, Australians were all out for 116 adding just 6 runs to the overnight score. In the New York second innings, CJP Wilson scored 35 as his side once again failed to reach a challenging total. This time, they were all out for 102. Once again, Spofforth took 7 wickets. Needing just 14 runs to win, the Australians attained that but not before they lost 3 wickets! In the end, the Australians won by 7 wickets.
Scorecard - Australia XI vs All New York XVIII
All New York - First Innings
H Bannister b Spofforth 1
CJP Wilson c Giffen b Boyle 2
W Brooks b Spofforth 0
G Lane b Spofforth 4
J Mart c Murdoch b Boyle 5
JA Bailey b Spofforth 1
R Davey st Blackham b Boyle 0
FA MacLachlan b Spofforth 1
*+TL White lbw b Spofforth 1
JH Lambkin hit wkt b Boyle 3
FN Saunders c Bannerman b Boyle 1
CH McCall c Jones b Boyle 0
P Hutchinson b Boyle 1
EH Moeran c Massie b Spofforth 1
JR Moore st Blackham b Spofforth 4
RS Hill b Spofforth 0
H Cleverley not out 0
GE Armstrong b Spofforth 0
Extras (2 b) 2
Total (all out, 39 overs) 27
Fall of wickets:
1-3, 2-3, 3-3, 4-9, 5-10, 6-11, 7-12, 8-15, 9-18, 10-19, 11-19, 12-21, 13-26, 14-26, 15-27, 16-27, 17-27 (39 ov)
Australians bowling
Spofforth 20 12 12 10
Boyle 19 11 13 7
Australians - First Innings
HH Massie b Lane 6
AC Bannerman b Mart 0
*WL Murdoch c Hutchinson b Lane 54
TP Horan b Lane 6
GJ Bonnor b Cleverley 0
G Giffen lbw b McCall 36
+JM Blackham not out 6
SP Jones b McCall 0
TW Garrett b Lane 2
HF Boyle c Hutchinson b Lane 0
FR Spofforth b Lane 2
Extras (4 b) 4
Total (all out, 67 overs) 116
Fall of wickets:
1-6, 2-6, 3-23, 4-32, 5-106, 6-106, 7-107, 8-110, 9-110, 10-116 (67 ov)
All New York bowling
Lane 33 17 23 6
Mart 10 4 16 1
Cleverley 10 2 27 1
Bannister 6 0 37 0
McCall 8 5 9 2
All New York - Second Innings
H Bannister c sub (JA Bailey) b Murdoch 3
H Cleverley st Blackham b Murdoch 15
CJP Wilson c Bannerman b Boyle 35
G Lane b Spofforth 10
W Brooks c Massie b Murdoch 3
J Mart c Murdoch b Boyle 4
JA Bailey b Boyle 0
R Davey b Boyle 2
FA MacLachlan b Spofforth 0
*+TL White st Blackham b Boyle 5
JH Lambkin c Boyle b Spofforth 6
FN Saunders c Murdoch b Boyle 0
JR Moore b Spofforth 0
P Hutchinson c Giffen b Boyle 5
EH Moeran b Spofforth 0
CH McCall b Spofforth 2
RS Hill st Blackham b Spofforth 4
GE Armstrong not out 2
Extras (5 b, 1 lb) 6
Total (all out, 54.3 overs) 102
Fall of wickets:
1-6, 2-23, 3-45, 4-56, 5-70, 6-72, 7-74, 8-75, 9-75, 10-86, 11-86, 12-86, 13-87, 14-87, 15-96, 16-96, 17-102 (54.3 ov)
Australians bowling
Spofforth 12.3 5 25 7
Boyle 13 6 16 6
Massie 9 2 19 0
Murdoch 14 1 28 3
Giffen 6 2 8 1
Australians - Second Innings
TW Garrett b McCall 4
SP Jones b Lane 1
HF Boyle run out 4
*WL Murdoch not out 1
GJ Bonnor not out 3
HH Massie did not bat
AC Bannerman did not bat
TP Horan did not bat
G Giffen did not bat
+JM Blackham did not bat
FR Spofforth did not bat
Extras (1 b) 1
Total (3 wickets, 14.3 overs) 14
Fall of wickets:
1-3, 2-7, 3-10
All New York bowling Lane 7.3 4 10 1
McCall 7 5 3 1
October 11, 1882 - Australia vs Philadelphia
On October 11, 1882, it was reported that the 3 day match at the Germantown Cricket Club in Nicetown between the eleven Australians and eighteen Philadelphians representing 7 clubs was affected by rain. Also, the delay caused by Australian players' late arrival did not do much to lift the mood. Some 1500 persons had assembled by noon but the Australians did not arrive until 12:35 although they had arrived from New York earlier in the morning.
Philadelphia won the toss and elected to bat.
Run-getting at first was slow and wickets fell regularly until C Newhall and Clark put up a stand. Newhall made 14 including 2 hits to the boundary before he was caught by Horan just before lunch. The score was 44 for 7. After lunch, a drizzle began but Philadelphians Morgan and Clark continued play. They scored 7 and 13 respectively before the rain became heavy and stumps were drawn. This match was played in the 5-balls per over format.
Resuming play from first day's score of 59 for 7, the Philadelphians took their score to 82 adding 23 runs to the overnight score - a much better performance than their New York counterparts in the first match of this tour against the visitors. For the Australians, Garrett was the most effective bowler Garrett's bowling proved most effective with figures of 30.2-13-31-7.
There were some 200 spectators when the game started on Day 2 but that number swelled to 1000 as the sun came out.
When the Australians came to bat, three Philadelphian players were missing. There still were only seventeen fielders until the three missing players arrived after lunch. While the Philadelphians reaped the benefits of a handicap system that allowed them more players - the large number of fielders was a problem and there were numerous misunderstandings on the field.
The scoring was slow in the Australian innings before lunch. At lunch, 8 runs had been scored in 25 minutes and for a loss of two wickets. After lunch too, the Australians were seen batting slow, putting on just two runs in 15 minutes after lunch. Blackham and Giffen made the stand of the day for Australia. Blackham scoring 31 and remaining not out at the end of the day. On Day 3, the Australians ended their first innings with the score reading 106. Charles Newhalls was the best bowler for the Philadelphians with figures of 39.3-26-30-4
Philadelphians scored 76 in their second innings after a lackluster batting display by everyone except Charles Newhall who scored 18. With 53 runs needed to win, the Australians reached their target without breaking a sweat - with only the fading daylight as the real enemy.
All Philadelphia - First Innings
G Bromhead b Spofforth 6
H Tyers b Boyle 5
AM Wood c Blackham b Boyle 0
RS Newhall c Bannerman b Spofforth 0
S Law c Jones b Boyle 2
JB Thayer b Spofforth 4
CA Newhall c Horan b Garrett 14
EW Clark run out 15
WC Morgan b Garrett 7
W Brockie c Murdoch b Boyle 7
TH Dixon b Garrett 0
JI Scott c Murdoch b Boyle 8
T Hargrave b Garrett 1
H Hargrave b Garrett 2
H MacNutt b Garrett 0
*DS Newhall b Garrett 0
+CE Haines not out 0
WC Lowry absent
Extras (10 b, 1 lb) 11
Total (all out, 60.3 overs) 82
Fall of wickets:
1-8, 2-8, 3-9, 4-13, 5-13, 6-17, 7-44, 8-59, 9-67, 10-67, 11-71, 12-74, 13-82, 14-82, 15-82, 16-82 (60.3 ov)
Australians bowling
Spofforth 15 6 22 3
Boyle 15.1 6 18 5
Garrett 30.2 13 31 7
Australians - First Innings
AC Bannerman b Tyers 3
*WL Murdoch b CA Newhall 4
TP Horan c Bromhead b CA Newhall 7
G Giffen c Lowry b Clark 23
GJ Bonnor c RS Newhall b Lowry 17
+JM Blackham c Haines b CA Newhall 31
SP Jones b Law 4
TW Garrett b Law 12
HH Massie not out 1
FR Spofforth c Bromhead b Law 0
HF Boyle c Haines b CA Newhall 1
Extras (2 lb, 1 w) 3
Total (all out, 101.3 overs) 106
Fall of wickets:
1-7, 2-7, 3-18, 4-35, 5-73, 6-84, 7-103, 8-105, 9-105, 10-106 (101.3 ov)
All Philadelphia bowling
CA Newhall 39.3 26 30 4
Tyers 15 10 7 1
Bromhead 7 4 15 0
H Hargrave 2 0 5 0
Lowry 7 2 19 1
Law 12 5 15 3
Clark 19 12 12 1
All Philadelphia - Second Innings
JI Scott c Murdoch b Boyle 2
+CE Haines b Garrett 3
AM Wood b Garrett 1
RS Newhall c and b Boyle 4
EW Clark c Murdoch b Boyle 9
W Brockie c Murdoch b Garrett 0
WC Morgan c Jones b Spofforth 5
CA Newhall b Garrett 18
H Tyers c Murdoch b Boyle 3
G Bromhead st Blackham b Boyle 4
TH Dixon c Bannerman b Boyle 7
JB Thayer b Garrett 0
S Law b Garrett 0
T Hargrave c Bonnor b Garrett 0
H Hargrave c Massie b Boyle 4
H MacNutt not out 6
*DS Newhall c Garrett b Boyle 7
WC Lowry b Boyle 0
Extras (3 b) 3
Total (all out, 85.2 overs) 76
Fall of wickets:
1-5, 2-5, 3-10, 4-10, 5-11, 6-23, 7-29, 8-38, 9-46, 10-54, 11-54, 12-54, 13-56, 14-61, 15-65, 16-76, 17-76 (85.2 ov)
Australians bowling
Garrett 36 20 35 7
Boyle 42.2 23 28 9
Spofforth 7 2 10 1
Australians - Second Innings
GJ Bonnor b CA Newhall 26
HH Massie not out 18
TW Garrett not out 7
AC Bannerman did not bat
*WL Murdoch did not bat
TP Horan did not bat
G Giffen did not bat
+JM Blackham did not bat
SP Jones did not bat
FR Spofforth did not bat
HF Boyle did not bat
Extras (2 lb) 2
Total (1 wicket, 18.3 overs) 53
Fall of wickets:
1-42
All Philadelphia bowling
Law 7 2 15 0
Lowry 1 0 9 0
MacNutt 4 2 3 0
CA Newhall 4.3 0 17 1
Tyers 2 0 7 0
4th-6th October, 1883: Philadelphia vs Rest of USA
Thayer scored a career high of 24 and Stoever and Charles Newhall scored 23 an 22 respectively as their side, the Gentlemen of Philadelphia, ended the first innings on 127 on Day 1. Lester scored 24 and Tyers remained not out on 23 on Day 2 and they helped USA reach a respectable 140. Edward Ogden, the Canadian batsman who had recently migrated to Chicago scored 49, and was the star performer for USA.
In their second innings, the Philadelphians were unable to turn the tide. With the exception of Wister, who scored 29 not out, there was no resistance from the rest of the side and the innings total of 70 meant that USA just needed 58 to win with more than a day remaining. At the close of day 2, USA was 18 for 2 and some quick wickets on Day 3 would have put some pressure on the visitors. But the overnight batsman Bottomore had other plans and went on to score 35 not out. Together with Ogden (16) ensured that his side posted an important 8-wicket victory over the stronger Philadelphia team. With 49 in the first innings and 16 not out in the second, Dr. Edward Ogden had an impressive match - it was his first class debut for USA.
Gentlemen of Philadelphia - First Innings
JJ Carvin c Bromhead b Dale 3
+JA Scott b Dale 0
RS Newhall c Brown b Cleverley 0
JB Thayer c Brown b Lane 24
EW Clark b Cleverley 4
FE Brewster b Lane 10
DP Stoever b Bottomore 23
*CA Newhall c and b Dale 22
S Law not out 18
H MacNutt c and b Bottomore 8
LW Wister c Davy b Bottomore 3
WC Lowry b Bottomore 4
Extras (7 b, 1 lb) 8
Total (all out, 101.3 overs) 127
Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-3, 3-3, 4-16, 5-37, 6-44, 7-80, 8-91, 9-103, 10-119, 11-127 (101.3 ov)
United States of America bowling
Cleverley 17 9 28 2
Dale 29 16 27 3
Lane 24 12 28 2
Ogden 8 3 14 0
Wright 6 6 0 0
Bottomore 17.3 3 22 4
United States of America - First Innings
G Bromhead run out 6
+H Brown c Carvin b Lowry 0
ER Ogden c Scott b Clark 49
G Wright st Scott b Lowry 12
W Bottomore c Clark b Thayer 13
G Lane c and b Thayer 0
RO Davy b Law 1
H Lester c Scott b Thayer 24
*CJP Wilson c Scott b Lowry 0
H Tyers not out 23
T Dale b Law 3
H Cleverley b CA Newhall 6
Extras (2 b, 1 w) 3
Total (all out, 106.3 overs) 140
Fall of wickets:
1-5, 2-6, 3-25, 4-41, 5-45, 6-48, 7-97, 8-98, 9-119, 10-124, 11-140 (106.3 ov)
Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling Lowry 27 8 40 3
Brewster 15 8 17 0
Law 22 10 27 2
CA Newhall 16.3 9 17 1
Thayer 12 4 17 3
MacNutt 3 1 7 0
Stoever 3 1 7 0
Clark 8 5 5 1
Gentlemen of Philadelphia - Second Innings
JB Thayer b Lane 5
S Law c Tyers b Bottomore 4
RS Newhall b Lane 0
+JA Scott b Lane 13
EW Clark c Wright b Lane 0
*CA Newhall b Lane 1
JJ Carvin lbw b Lane 0
DP Stoever b Lane 0
FE Brewster c Lane b Bottomore 0
LW Wister not out 29
H MacNutt run out 8
WC Lowry run out 6
Extras (2 lb, 1 nb, 1 w) 4
Total (all out, 62.2 overs) 70
Fall of wickets:
1-8, 2-8, 3-9, 4-11, 5-12, 6-12, 7-16, 8-19, 9-33, 10-63, 11-70 (62.2 ov)
United States of America bowling Cleverley 3 0 10 0
Lane 31.2 18 26 7
Bottomore 24 11 18 2
Tyers 4 1 12 0
United States of America - Second Innings
G Bromhead b CA Newhall 6
H Tyers st Scott b Lowry 0
T Dale lbw b Lowry 4
W Bottomore not out 35
ER Ogden not out 16
H Lester did not bat
+H Brown did not bat
G Wright did not bat
G Lane did not bat
RO Davy did not bat
*CJP Wilson did not bat
H Cleverley did not bat
Extras 0
Total (3 wickets, 31.2 overs) 61
Fall of wickets:
1-4, 2-4, 3-35
Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling
Lowry 5 1 14 2
Law 6 2 14 0
CA Newhall 16.2 10 25 1
MacNutt 3 1 6 0
Clark 1 0 2 0
1884: Chicago Cricket Club, founded in 1876 had been growing steadily and by 1884, with the support of the Ogden family (Dr. Edward Ogden and his two brothers who had immigrated from Canada), Philip Armour (meat packer millionaire) and Marshall Fields (Department Store millionaire), it was playing a regular schedule of Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at Lincoln Park.
1884 also saw the creation of Pullman Cricket Club for the residents of Pullman. Named after George Mortimer Pullman - who was the rich owner of Pullman Railcar and referred to as the Palacecar Millionaire. Several new clubs such as Wanderers Cricket and Athletic Club, were formed and Spalding created a trophy - the Spalding Trophy for the Chicago league. Dr. Edward Ogden continued to play with the Canadian Cricket Club and even led the first Canadian tour of England.
Similar to Pullman Railcar in concept and financial strength, over in Racine, Horlicks (then called Horlick's), the malt beverage company funded a cricket club called the Horlick's Cricket Club in the late 1880's.The English born Horlick brothers migrated to America and created the malt drink, which was launched in USA in 1886. Ironically, like the sport that they patronized, their malt drink too would ultimately find its biggest market in India!
July 20, 1884 - Staten Island Cricket Club Experiment - Baseball vs Cricket
A cricket match was played between members of the Staten Island cricket club wherein the first eleven used baseball bats and played against an eleven picked from the rest of the club who used cricket bats.
The first eleven scored 150 runs. E Kessler scored 53 and Cyril Wilson 25. FN Saunders 25 and RS Hill 16.
The second team were bowled out for 44. B Garnett got 13 and JJ Eyre coming in with 9.
1884: The Canadians won the USA vs Canada contest for the first time in the decade and won again in 1885 on their own home grounds.
15th-16th August, 1884: USA versus Canada at Germantown Cricket Club (Nicetown, Philadelphia)
Canada, which had lost continuously to USA in the USA-Canada international series posted their first win since 1857. Their victory, by a 100 run margin was as much due to the presence of Edward Ogden for the Canadian side. Edward, who divided his time between Toronto and Chicago, had played for USA in the USA vs Gentlemen of Philadelphia match but chose to captain Canada in the Canada vs USA fixture.
Canada scored 179 in their first innings and dismissed USA for just 109 at the end of day 1. Edward pushed himself up the batting order and scored 49 in the Canadian second innings following up on his highest score of 30 in the first innings in a low scoring encounter. Canada ended their second innings with 151 and proceeded to bowl out USA for just 121 on day 2.
Canada - First Innings
F Harley b Brewster 24
WW Vickers lbw b Welsh 6
+GW Jones c Noble b Law 22
A Gillespie c Brown b Noble 2
*ER Ogden c Moore b Welsh 30
W Pinckney b MacNutt 16
MM Boyd c Newhall b Welsh 6
AC Allan st Brown b Bixby 17
CJN Badgley b Law 20
DOR Jones c Brewster b MacNutt 17
CC Luard c Morgan b MacNutt 2
RB Ferrie not out 0
Extras (11 b, 4 lb, 2 w) 17
Total (all out, 86.2 overs) 179
Fall of wickets:
1-10, 2-48, 3-61, 4-63, 5-95, 6-114, 7-119, 8-151, 9-161, 10-173, 11-179 (86.2 ov)
United States of America bowling Welsh 20 6 25 3
MacNutt 24.2 9 56 3
Brewster 8 0 25 1
Noble 13 6 18 1
Law 12 5 16 2
Stoever 5 1 15 0
Bixby 4 1 7 1
United States of America - First Innings
JR Moore b Ferrie 9
+H Brown b Gillespie 7
S Law lbw b Ferrie 1
FE Brewster b Gillespie 1
DP Stoever lbw b Ferrie 2
WC Morgan c Ogden b Ferrie 17
H MacNutt b Badgley 15
WW Noble c Pinckney b Ferrie 19
FW Ralston b Badgley 2
CL Bixby c GW Jones b Gillespie 11
S Welsh b Ferrie 6
*DS Newhall not out 17
Extras (1 b, 1 lb) 2
Total (all out, 60.3 overs) 109
Fall of wickets:
1-12, 2-16, 3-17, 4-20, 5-22, 6-50, 7-64, 8-75, 9-75, 10-89, 11-109 (60.3 ov)
Canada bowling Ferrie 20 6 38 6
Gillespie 20.3 6 35 3
Ogden 11 7 17 0
Badgley 9 3 17 2
Canada - Second Innings
*ER Ogden c +Morgan b Law 49
F Harley b Newhall 13
+GW Jones c Bixby b Newhall 10
A Gillespie b Noble 9
CC Luard c Brewster b Welsh 24
WW Vickers b Law 9
W Pinckney c Newhall b Welsh 0
MM Boyd c MacNutt b Welsh 0
CJN Badgley b Law 19
AC Allan not out 10
DOR Jones b Law 0
RB Ferrie b Law 0
Extras (1 b, 7 lb) 8
Total (all out, 65 overs) 151
Fall of wickets:
1-26, 2-44, 3-65, 4-109, 5-109, 6-109, 7-109, 8-128, 9-151, 10-151, 11-151 (65 ov)
United States of America bowling
Morgan 10 4 23 0
Welsh 18 5 35 3
Newhall 7 0 27 2
MacNutt 11 5 19 0
Brewster 3 1 9 0
Law 13 7 21 5
Noble 3 0 9 1
United States of America - Second Innings
JR Moore c Badgley b Ferrie 0
CL Bixby b Gillespie 12
DP Stoever c Harley b Gillespie 9
WC Morgan c Ogden b Gillespie 27
S Law b Gillespie 0
WW Noble c GW Jones b Gillespie 10
*DS Newhall b Gillespie 14
FE Brewster b Ferrie 27
H MacNutt lbw b Ferrie 6
FW Ralston b Gillespie 1
+H Brown not out 3
S Welsh b Gillespie 0
Extras (1 b, 10 lb, 1 w) 12
Total (all out, 63 overs) 121
Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-16, 3-29, 4-29, 5-49, 6-78, 7-91, 8-115, 9-116, 10-118, 11-121 (63 ov)
Canada bowling
Ferrie 16 5 25 3
Gillespie 31 9 43 8
Ogden 1 0 9 0
Harley 3 1 6 0
Badgley 9 3 19 0
Boyd 3 0 7 0
1884: After years of playing 4-ball and 5-ball overs across America, six balls per over makes its foray into cricket in USA as well.
May 17, 1884: Philadelphia tour of England, Scotland and Ireland.
In 1881/82, on just the third Australian tour of England, the Aussies defeated England in England! A rare feat. Inspired by that achievement, on May 17th 1884, the Gentlemen of Philadelphia boarded the City of Rome at Sandy Hook embarking on the first ever tour of Ireland and England under the captaincy of Robert Newhall. $8,200 was raised to make this possible (equivalent of some $100,000 in today). They believed in the premise that to really become a cricketing force, you have to play in England. On this tour, the Philadelphian cricketers won 8 matches, lost five and drew five matches. In England, they won 6 matches and lost 4 playing against top and second tier teams. This was a spectacular effort that drew praise from WG Grace who played on the Gloucester side that lost to the visitors!
Gentlemen of Philadelphia (GOP) Tally: Played 18, Won 8, Lost 5, Drawn 5.
The tour by the Argonauts was not only successful, they gained the respect of their English hosts. More importantly, players like Charles Newhall, William Lowry, Joseph Scott, Howard MacNutt and John Thayer showed that they had what it took to be a champion side on par with the best in the world. As George Newhall declared after this tour "Cricket in America is a fact." "We have shown unusual traits," he said adding that "Philadelphia (is) at present the head-quarters of cricket on this side of the Atlantic."
It was especially memorable for William Lowry who tool 121 wickets at an average of roughly 13 with his left arm orthodox bowling and Joseph Scott, still less than 20 years of age, who scored 1054 runs on the tour.
Click here for a detailed review of the 1884 tour of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1884: WM Massie scores USA's first double century in a league match in Florida - 264!
September 18, 1885 - New York Cricket Club vs Manhattan Cricket Club
The return match between the New York and Manhattan cricket clubs was played in Central Park on September 18th on the North Meadow. New Yorkers were beated by a 80 run margin bythe Manhattan Cricket Club thanks mainly to the fine underhand bowling by J Rogan. He got 6 for 8 from 36 balls bowled.
Manhattan
H Jewell b Cuddihy..0
H Staniland b Cuddihy..16
J Rogan b Cuddihy..2
H Coyne run out..0
S Morton lbw Short..5
W Thew b Cuddihy..30
H Martin b Cuddihy..15
R Carruthers c and b Cuddihy..20
W Cunliffe c Miller b Beggs..8
W Henry b Cuddihy..0
C Middleton not out..1
Byes..6
Total..103
New York
J Shortall b Martin..9
J Cuddihy c Jewell b Martin..2
J Jackson c Middleton b Rogan..2
H Smithson b Rogan..2
T Short b Rogan..1
W Miller run out..1
W Brandon lbw Rogan..0
C Lewis b Rogan..0
W Cantle b Rogan..0
F James c Rogan b Martin..3
J Jackson not out..0
Byes..3
Total..23
October 5, 1885 - The English Cricketers Tour of 1885
Click here for a tour report of the 1885 English tour of USA
1885 - Cricket gains in NY Region
In addition to the 52 first eleven matches, several second eleven and junior matches were played as cricket gained in the NY region. This was in addition to the annual fixtures of NY vs Philadelphia and the NY Americans vs the Englishmen.
Staten Island Cricket Club continued to be the club to beat winning 5 out of 11 matches and losing 4. 3 of these losses were to stronger Philadelphian teams. Butler, the Staten Island professional, heads the batting averages with 36.10. JH Lambkin was the bowling leader with an 8.86 average.
Their junior eleven too had a good season winning 3 and losing 1.
The Manhattan Cricket Club had a better record on paper. They won 12 and lost 1 but their opponents were not as high quality. Tyers, their professional had an average of 62 in six innings. He also obtained 20 wickets at the cost of 94 runs. A wandering team of members played Harvard University, Longwood CC, Quincy and New Haven and won all the matches.
The International Tile Company Cricket Club won six out of their eight matches played, lost one and one drawn. One of their members, C Chell, died from sunstroke preventing their playing for a month. Riverside Club, playing in Central Park, won one and lost five in a season limited by a late-start. St. George's did not play too much cricket despite their large membership. They won three and lost one. The New York Cricket Club, also playing at Central Park played just three matches losing two.
New York Times noted that "With so many youngsters taking to the game, the prospects for cricket look very good." Also in 1885, an attempt was made to form The New York State Cricketers Association. L. Love a member of the organizing committee told New York Times, "even if three clubs join, we will organize."
November 22, 1885 - First of those cricket jokes in England
The Duchess of Berry once, at Dieppe, went to watch some English gentlemen play a game of cricket. In the middle of the first innings, she sent to ask when they were going to begin.
1886: Parsees land in England and becomes first Indian team to tour internationally. It would take India roughly 100 years to transform into a superpower.
March 1, 1886 - A cricket clubhouse in Central Park.
There were three cricket clubs playing in Central Park on the South Meadow in 1886 and two played on the North Meadow. The teams used the lawn tennis club house but often times, when it rained, they were soaking wet by the time they made it to the clubhouse some 600 yards away. In 1886, the Park Commissioners finally gave the cricketers a club house at the cricket grounds.
July 21, 1886: First tie on record - Manhattan vs New Haven Cricket Club
In an example of friendly contests that were in place at that time, New York Times noted that rain had reduced the game between the Manhattan and New haven Cricket Clubs to just one inning. The New Haveners were first at bat and scored 39 on a wet ground. The Manhattans went in and at one time seemed to have a good chance of winning but the score was a tie. "The two teams had a big supper and enjoyed life together," New York Times wrote.
August 23, 1886: A West Indian team captained by LR Fife arrived in USA and Canada to play 13 games. Of the 7 matches played against club sides in USA, the club sides from USA won 4, West Indies won one match and the remaining two were drawn. Click here for scorecards. The following year, Philadelphia toured West Indies and actually manages to defeat a representative side in Bouda, British Guyana.
September 25, 1886 - English XI and Philadelphia XI
A remarkable game was played in Philadelphia between the English eleven and the Philadelphian eleven.
In the first innings, Philadelphia put up a fine performance and posted a total of 168 against the best cricketers from England. GS Patterson scored 32 and WC Morgan scored 27.
Britain resumed play today at 65 for 2. Key and Roller proved to be formidable and in great form. Key made 109 and Roller scored 75 at a very fast clip and by the time the third wicket fell, the English Gentlemen had scored 181. Buckland, Cobb and Rev AT Fortesque scored runs although not at the same rate as Key and Roller.
By the time the English closed their venture, they had 323 runs on the board.
If they thought they could steamroll Philadelphians into submission, they were disappointed. Neither were the Philadelphians interested in playing out time.
Patterson continued his fine form from the first innings but was run out on 19. C Newhall played well too but was brilliantly bowled out by Hine-Haycock. W Scott joined his brother J Scott who was already well settled on 29. No further wickets were lost and the Philadelphians posted a healthy 70 for 2 in their reply.
Philadelphia First Innings
JA Scott c Welman b Buckland..18
GS Patterson b Buckland..32
R Newhall c Welman b Buckland..11
WCMorgan Jr. b Buckland..27
W Brockie Jr. c and b Buckland..0
EW Clark Jr. b Turner..9
C Newhall b Turner..18
W Scott b Rotherham..6
FW Ralston Jr. c and b Buckland..7
FE Brewster not out..15
HI Brown b Cottrell..9
Byes 8, leg byes 8..16
Total 168
English First Innings
JA Turner b C Newhall..11
HW Bainbridge c Brewster b W Scott..10
KJ Key c W Scott b Brown..100
WE Roller c Clark b Brown..75
TR Hine-Haycock b Brown..5
EH Buckland c Brewster b CANewhall..19
AR Cobb c RS Newhall b Brown..14
Rev AT Fortescue c CA Newhall bBrown..31
CE Cottrell c Morgan b CA Newhall..2
H Rotherham c Morgan b CA Newhall..27
FT Welman not out..7
Byes 4, leg byes 5, wides 4..13
Total..323
Philadelphia Second Innings
JA Scott not out..29
GS Patterson run out..19
CA Newhall b Hine-Haycock..15
W Scott not out..1
Byes 2, leg byes 2, wides 1, no ball 1..6
Total..70
1887: The gin connection
Lord's William Nicholson once again gave a loan to the Lord's in 1889. Because of his connections with the gin business, the pavilion was called the gin palace! Vodka dome anyone?
1887: Canadian team tours England
The year 1887 saw the first official tour undertaken by a Canadian team. A capable side under the captaincy of Dr. E. R. Ogden toured the British Isles and took on several of the counties on level terms. The team far from disgraced itself, recording wins over Ireland, Derbyshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire. Edward Ogden, who was an all-rounder, had a sensational tour. He hit up scores of 98 against Durham and 133 against Hampshire, and captured 9 for 83 against the M.C.C. at Lord's.
April 27, 1887 - National and Overseas tours planned for Eastern Cricketers
In a preview of the season, New York Times noted, "Cricket is expecting a big boom with nearly twice as many matches expected to be played when compared to last year. A team of Eastern cricketers will travel to the Western USA to play friendly matches. New York plans to send a team to West Indies this season."
Cyril Wilson, Captain of the Staten Island cricket club was the main proponent of the West Indies tour. New York Times recognized Staten Island by observing that it "has already done a lot to promote the game than the older clubs in the region."
As for the annual fixtures, the match against Canada was scheduled to take place on June 30 and July 1 in Seabright instead of the usual Hoboken. The New York vs New Jersey match was to take place at the St. George ground in Hoboken on June 17 and 18 and the All New York vs All Philadelphia at Staten Island in September. "The clubs east and west of the Allegheny Mountains will also be arrayed against each other at Pittsburgh in September. This is the first of its kind and hopes to become a fixture."
University cricket was picking up as well. "Princeton will put an eleven this year and Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania should help to popularize the game. Billy Brewster is expected to coach Princeton," Times noted enthusiastically.
After going dormant for a few seasons, the fabled St George's Club finally merged with Seabright Club - a development thought to have been good for the fortune of the Hoboken ground. The two clubs agreed to play 30 matches. Throwing some light on how grounds were maintained, Times wrote that "Seabright Club's own ground at Rumsen Neck will be looked after by Mr. Burrows, a well known Yorkshire professional. That painstaking professional F Smithson will have charge of Hoboken."
"Staten Island club will play one or two matches each week at the new ground in Livingston. This ground, supervised by George Hayward has become one of the most level and best pieces of turf in the world. Accommodations of players on the ground are of the finest description. Thanks mainly due to Cyril Wilson and H Martin. The breach which has existed between the Staten Island and Manhattan clubs is now a thing of the past."
Manhattan was to play about 36 matches and with the best clubs in the country. Manhattan, which played at Prospect Park had on its payroll Harry Tyers who was their professional ground supervisor. Also playing at Prospect Park were Kings County, Brooklyn, Sons of St. George and Anglo-Saxon Lodge. Of these, King's County was a strong team.
New York continued to play in Central Park where the Park Commissioners "were seeing that the game is becoming an attraction at Central Park." They promised the club every facility for playing cricket. Riverside's captain Dr. P Outerbridge belonged to the well known cricketing family of that name and they were to play some 20 matches. Their home ground was also on Central Park.
In the New Jersey State Cricket Association was planning a schedule with 117 matches. Old Newark club, Trenton, Paterson, Alma, ONT and Kearny Rangers were the best clubs there. "Such a boom has never been known in the game before and if it is kept up, then this sport will once again rank on par with other games that are played," NY Times noted in its preview.
August 1, 1887 - New York to tour West Indies
The New York Amateurs who are to tour the West Indies will leave NY on December 12. First stop will be Demerara in Guyana. From there, they will go to St. Croix, St. Kitts, Martinique, Barbados and Trinidad.
Four days of cricket will be played in Barbados, Eight days play in Jamaica and a week in Demerara. Trinidad will see just two days of cricket. The route has been planned by Mr Wyatt of Georgetown Demrara Cricket Club and Cyril Watson of the Staten Island club.
This is a return visit to the West Indies tour of last year. The cricketers will reach NY on January 31.
December 16,1888 - 1888 Season Review
The Irish Gentlemen's tour through Canada and USA created a lot of interest and have caused the clubs of New York top form an alliance and Philadelphia clubs plan to travel to England, Scotland and Ireland in 1889.
The Manhattan and Staten Island clubs ran a close race for the top club's spot. Manhattan Club won 22 of its29 matches. 4 were lost and 3 were drawn. The largest innings they played was the one against Seabright in which Manhattan scored 191 runs. This match was played in Prospect Park on September 5, 1888.
Under the captaincy of SJ Fisher and the Presidency of E Squance, this club is expected to gain in strength in 1889.
Harry Tyers heads the batting averages with an average of 35.91. Nobody scored more than 100 runs in a single innings, 100 being the best score.
R. Cobb was second with an average of 29.75 and F Prendergast with 22.13 finished 3rd.
Best bowling was by H Coyne who took 26 wickets for 124 runs at an average of 4.76. Tyers took 60 wickets for 298 runs with 4.96 average. Coyne appears to be shaping well for the next season. JG Davis and MR Cobb also played well for Manhattans. The total of Manhattan for the year was 3356 runs to their adversaries 1889.
The Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club's first and second elevens played 19 matches and won 12 and lost 5. 1 was drawn and 1 ended in a tie. First eleven made an aggregate of 2151 runs against their opponents who made 1621 runs.
Cyril Wilson is without doubt the best and the safest bat in the Staten Island team. His average was 35.20. He scored 108 in one innings. JH Lambkin who tool 22 wickets for 204 runs (an average of 9.27) leads the bowlers. Notably, the Staten Island junior eleven did good work with WSR Ogilvy Jr and Kenney Walker deserving credit for their batting.
The New York Cricket Club played 14 games of which 6 were won and 6 were lost. 2 Were drawn. J. Rorke had the best average of 18. The club’s highest score was 151 in one innings against the Victorias in Central Park and the next best against Newark which was 93 runs in Newark.
The Kings County Cricket Club won 7 of 15 and lost 7. They drew one with Staten Island. Albion Cricket Club of Brooklyn had a good season too. It won 5 out of the 17 matches it played. The Cosmopolitan, another Central Park club, played 19 games during the season. 13 were won and 4 lost. 2 were drawn. T O'Reilly lead in the batting averages and J Flannery was the best bowler. 1889 looks promising for this club.
1889: In 1889, the Philadelphians visited England and played some English club sides with moderate success. This team was captained by RS Newhall. A return visit by England was made in 1891 when Lord Hawke brought a team across. Arthur Goodwill Spalding's All American baseball team toured the world leaving San Francisco aboard SS Alameda. EN Crane of the team throws a cricket ball 128 yards winning GBP 100.
1880s set the stage for the 90s and by the turn of the century - which truly was the golden era of cricket. The events of 1880s set in motion some great developments in USA which, if they had taken root more strongly, and had they not been disrupted by the events that were to unfold in the first half of the 20th century would have allowed cricket to prosper on nearly equal terms with baseball or football.
During the 1890s the Canada versus United States matches surged to a new popularity with the emergence of the two greatest all-rounders in the history of North American cricket, in John Barton (Bart) King of the United States and John M. (Jack) Laing of Canada. These two talented players dominated the local scene for almost twenty years and sizeable crowds gathered to see them play.
As the 19th century drew to a close, the Americans toured England yet again. On this trip, they beat Sussex and Warwickshire and drew with Somerset, Yorkshire, Notts and Oxford.
In 1899, Maharaja Ranji led an English side to USA. The English side hammered all the American sides they played with the exception of a New York XIV which drew a match. However, USA did not field a combined XI and with each city putting up their own local sides, the challenge mounted was not substantive. More on that when we chronicle the 1890s. But in recognition of the progress that cricket had made in USA, a Pennsylvania Railroad poster advertising the 1899 visit of Ranji's Eleven to the Merion Cricket Club, which included McClaren, Jessop and Bosanquet, the master of the 'googly,' hangs in the MCC Library and Museum at Lord's even today.
Other DreamCricket.com articles on the History of USA Cricket:
History of American cricket Part I - The 1700's
History of American Cricket Part II - 1800 to 1850
History of American Cricket Part III - 1850s
History of American Cricket Part IV - 1860s
History of American Cricket Part V - 1870s
Tour Report of America's first victorious tour of England in 1884
USA Cricket History: English Tour of 1885 - Philadelphia defeats an English XI at home
Picture and archive credits: Not a word on USA cricket can be written without acknowledging Tom Melville, P David Sentance, Amar Singh and Deb Das. We are grateful to them for their terrific books and fine articles which provide in-depth and insightful commentary. What we have done here is merely constructed a timeline. Also fascinating are the rich histories available via UPenn and Haverford + Bryn Mawr Archives. Canadian cricket pictures were obtained from the provincial government archives.
Most of all, we relied on NY Times archives as well as our own collection of books and magazines that we were fortunate to obtain when the KA Auty Library was auctioned off by the Ridley College in Ontario. The Pullman cricket team picture appears courtesy of Pullman Museum (alas, what once was a cricket ground is now a dog racing track!)
We depended on New England colleges for history of college cricket, especially Yale, Dartmouth, and Harvard archives. Of course, Wikipedia is among the most extensive sources these days. Pictures are presumed to be out of copyright owing to their antiquity. Copyright for this compilation contained here belongs to dreamcricket.com and reprinting is permitted with proper acknowledgement and link back.
Scorecards were licensed from Cricket Archive.
Title History of American Cricket
2019 Jan 24
A Cricketer Launches Professional Baseball
2018 Dec 01
History of American Cricket Part VII - 1890s
